Shuttleless weaving looms



Nov. 15, 1960 v. M. J. ANCET ETAL 2,960,118

SHUTTLELESS WEAVING LOOMS Filed July 24, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VE NTORS VICTOR MARIE JOSEPH ANCET MARIUS FAYOLLE Nov. 15, 1960 v. M. J.ANCET ErAL SHUTTLELESS wmvmc LOOMS Filed July 24, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2'IIIIIIIII/I/l/I/A INVENTOR3 A'rromqgg United States Patent 2,960,118SHUTTLELESS WEAVING LOOMS Victor Marie Joseph Ancet, 24 Rue Massena, andMarius Fayolle, known as Marcel Fayolle, 16 Rue Duquesne, both of Lyon,France Our invention relates to shuttleless weaving looms of the kindwherein the weft is inserted in the shed from a stationary weft supplyby a weft pulling needle which is transversely movable from the side ofthe warp opposed to the said weft supply and which carries at its foreend a thread gripper which, during the return of the said needle,catches the portion of the weft thread comprised between the inlet endof the preceding pick and the weft supply, in such a manner that afterthe said thread has been clamped in the thread gripper and has been cutbetween the latter and the inlet of the preceding pick, the said threadmay be pulled by the needle and laid in the shed, means being providedfor disengaging the said thread from the thread gripper when the needlehas reached the side of the warp towards the end of its return stroke.

It is the object of our invention to provide a shuttleless weaving loomof the kind above referred to, which will operate in a satisfactorymanner even with hard and springy threads which necessitate asubstantial tension, and wherein there will not be necessary to providean important length of weft thread beyond the edge of the fabric opposedto the stationary weft supply.

In accordance with our invention the thread gripper carried by the weftpulling needle comprises a fixed jaw formed by the underside of the baseof a thread-catching tongue raised obliquely towards the heel of theneedle, and a pivoted movable jaw disposed beneath the said fixed jaw.

According to another feature of our invention the pivoted jaw of thethread gripper is carried by a longitudinal rod rotatably supported bythe needle and actuated by fixed cam surfaces during the movement of thesaid needle. The axis in question may be submitted to the action ofspring means which tend to close the movable jaw against the fixed jaw,and it may be solid with a radial lever which cooperates with the fixedcam surfaces to open the thread gripper against the said spring means.The lower jaw is preferably housed in a recess provided in the needlebeneath the tongue.

It will be appreciated that in the loom according to our invention thethread gripper may be positively actuated, in contradistinction with theknown grippers in which the thread is only wedged under the effect ofits own tension which should therefore be very carefully adjusted. Thethread gripper according to our invention may clamp the thread at thebeginning of the return stroke of the needle or on the contrary afterthe latter has already travelled back through a given distance acrossthe shed. By so disposing the thread cutting device that the thread iscut in the immediate vicinity of the inlet of the preceding pick a giventime after the beginning of the return stroke of the needle, there maybe obtained that the said needle drags a dead end of noticeable length,and by so adjusting the opening of the gripper that it occurs before theend of the return stroke of the needle, this dead end may be regularlylaid in the ice shed by the needle, which may be of advantage in somecase and with some kinds of threads.

According to another feature of this invention the vertical wing of thethread drawing needle, realized in the form of an angle iron in a per seknown manner, terminates obliquely somewhat behind the fore end of thehorizontal wing to leave at the point of the needle and in front of thethread gripper a flat surface on which the warp threads may come at thebeginning of the shed closing step before the needle has reached theoutlet side of the warp, whereby the weft thread laid by the needle ispressed between the said flat surface and the warp threads and isprevented from curling when the gripper opens, as it generally occurs inthe known shuttleless looms in the case of threads of springy characterwhich have a marked tendency to curl.

The devices used for cutting the weft thread between the inlet of thelast pick and the thread gripper may be of any description. There may beused cutter blades of known construction. The needle may be formed witha sharp cutting edge. Owing to the positive clamping action effected bythe gripper according to this invention the weft thread may in somecases be broken under the efiect of the tension to which it issubmitted.

In the annexed drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmental plan view showing a loom according to thisinvention at the foremost position of the weft pulling needle.

Fig. 2. is an enlarged perspective view showing the fore end of theneedle.

Fig. 3 is the corresponding plan view with parts in section to show thearrangement of the movable jaw of the thread gripper and of the openingin which the said movable jaw is disposed.

Figs. 4 to 6 are sections taken through lines IV-IV, VV and VI-VI ofFig. 3.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged perspective view showing the rear end of theneedle and the parts adapted for cooperation therewith.

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatical vertical section showing a possibleembodiment of the weft thread cutting device.

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. l, but showing the parts at thebeginning of the return stroke of the needle.

Fig. 10 shows the parts towards the end of this return stroke.

Fig. 11 illustrates the side of the loom provided with the stationaryweft supply, when the needle has completed its return stroke.

The loom illustrated is of the conventional type wherein the warpthreads from a loom beam are divided into two sheds by appropriateshedding means for permitting insertion of the successive picks, thedistribution of the warp threads in the two sheds being of coursechanged after each pick. The weft thread or pick inserted in the shed isbeaten up by an appropriate mechanism such as, for instance, a reedcarried by an oscillating slay. All these devices are well-known in theart and therefore Figs. 1, 9, 10 and ll only show the warp threads 1 inthe vicinity of one side of the warp sheds (left hand side in Figs. 1, 9and 11, right hand side in Fig. 2). Reference numeral 2 designates thefabric formed by the warp threads and the successive picks. 3 is astationary weft thread supply from which the successive picks are to bedrawn, it being understood that each one is formed of a single threadand not of a double thread as in some shuttleless looms. The end of theloom where the fabric is wound will be termed the front end of the loom,the rear end corresponding to the loom beam. The terms right side andleft side will refer to the operator facing the front end of the loom.

Insertion of the weft thread in the shed is efiected by a needle 4having a length somewhat greater than the end of the said needle(righthand end in Figs. 1, 9 and 10) being engaged on a vertical pinwhich is reciprocated transversely to the fabric by any appropriatemeans, not illustrated, such as, for instance, a crankpin and connectingrod gearing. This needle -4 is in the form of an angle iron with asubstantially horizontal wing and a substantially vertical wing disposedbehindthe horizontal wing with respect to the loom. It is appropriatelyguided for instance by guides provided on the slay in the manner knownfor the shuttles of conventional looms. The driving pin 5 may be carriedby the slay to follow the longitudinal oscillating motion thereof, or itmay move in a fixed transverse plane,in which case the needle shouldwholly clear the slay at the end of its return stroke, as it will beeasily appreciated. The operation of the needle is to advance throughthe shed (Fig. 1), to catch and to grip the weft thread from the weftsupply 3 (Fig. 9), then to return backwards while pulling the saidthread which has been separated from the preceding pick (Fig. the saidweft thread thus forming a further pick which is beaten up by the slay.

As shown in Figs. 2 to 6, the horizontal wing 4a of the needle 4 is ofincreased thickness towards the fore end of the needle, as indicated at4b, the end of this thickened portion 412 being pointed. The rear edgeof this thickened portion 4b is formed by a transverse upper shoulder,as more particularly shown in Fig. 3. The horizontal wing 401 has arectangular opening 40 longitudinally disposed with respect to theneedle, the front end of this opening being cut in the thickened portion4b.

The thickened portion 41) has a rearward extension 4d in the form of atriangular tongue which is curved upwardly. The upper side of thisextension or tongue 4d is flush with the upper side of the portion 4bitself and the thickness of the said tongue is reduced in such a mannerthat there is left an intermediate space between the lowermost point ofits underside and the upper side of the horizontal wing 4a at the rearof the thickened portion 419, as clearly shown in Fig. 5. The extensionor tongue 4d extends across the needle 4 from the free edge of thehorizontal wing 4a to a point situated approximately midway of the widthof the needle so as to cover almost entirely the opening 4c.

The transverse shoulder which forms the rear edge of the thickenedportion 4b has a laterally disposed blind hole 4e (Fig. 3) wherein thereis pivoted one end 6a of reduced diameter of a rod 6 which extends alongthe inner junction of the two wings of the needle 4. The other end 6b ofthis rod 6, also of reduced diameter, is rotatably engaged in a tubularsleeve 7 (Fig. 7) adjustably secured in a block 8 carried by thehorizontal wing 4a in the vicinity of the rear end of the needle. Theblock 8 is provided for this purpose with a set screw 9. On the portionof the rod 6 nearest to the fore end or point of the needle there isfixed by welding or otherwise a fiat arm 10 which is engaged into thefree space between the horizontal wing 4a and the underside of theextension or tongue 4:2, as indicated in Fig. 5, the said arm being bentat 90 in a horizontal plane within the opening 40 in such a manner thatits end 10a may form a movable jaw in cooperation with the base of thetongue 4d which plays the role of the corresponding fixed jaw (Figs. 3to 6). The upper face of the said end 10a is grooved longitudinally.

A radial finger 11 (Fig. 7) is secured to the aforesaid rod 6 in theneighbourhood of its rear end 6b and to this finger there is attachedone end 12a of a torsional spring 12 carried by the rod 6, the other end12b of this spring bearing against the horizontal wing 4a. Thearrangement is such that the torsional spring 12 tends to apply the endor movable jaw 10:: of the arm 10 against the base of the tongue orfixed jaw 4a, and that when these two jaws are in mutual contact thesaid finger 11 is substantially vertical. InFigs. 4, 5 and 6 the movablewidth of the fabric, the rear jaw 1011 has been shown as spaced from thefixed jaw 4d against the action of the spring 12.

The right-hand side of the loom carries a transverse rod 13 (Figs. 1, 7,9 and 10) disposed laterally with respect to the warp and on this rod 13are adjustably secured sleeves 14 and 15 clamped in position by means ofset screws 16 and 17. Each sleeve 14 or 15 supports a cam surface,respectively 18 or 19, adapted for cooperation with the outer end of theradial finger 11 in the transverse to-and-fro motion of the needle, inorder to rotate the rod 6 through a small angle against the action ofthe spring 12. The cam surface 18 acts at the end of the forward strokeof the needle and the cam surface 19 at the end of the rearward strokethereof.

The Weft thread from the stationary weft supply 3 passes through avertical tubular guide 20 (Figs. 1, 6, 9 and 11) disposed on theleft-hand side of the loom beyond the edge of the fabric and at such aposition that when the needle 4 reaches its foremost position, the saidguide is close to the rear side of the vertical wing 4 of the needle,its lower end opening immediately above the horizontal wing "4a andbehind the extension or tongue 4a, as indicated in broken lines in Fig.6.

The vertical wing 4 of the needle lowers progressively behind the foreend of the needle in such a manner as to leave a wholly flat portion ona certain length A (Fig. 4) of the needle starting from the tip or pointthereof.

The loom further comprises appropriate cutting means to cut the weftthread between the successive picks. These means may be of any kind. Inthe example shown in Fig. 8 the cutting device comprises in theconventional manner a cutter blade 21 with a vertical or oblique cuttingedge, carried by the upper end of a rod 22 which is vertically movablein a guide 23 fixed to the slay 24, the lower end of the said rod beingattached at 25 to a lever 26 pivoted at 27 and actuated by a cam 28. Thejoint 25 between the rod and the lever is situated in the vicinity ofthe axis of the slay, whereby it is substantially unaffected by theoscillatory motion thereof. The cutter blade may be located at anyappropriate point in the vicinity of the weft-inlet edge of the fabric,as for instance at one of pointsB and C in Fig. 9, the only importantquestion being that the said blade should meet the weft thread and cutthe latter owing to the vertical movementimparted by the rod 22.

Instead of using a positively actuated cutter blade, the needle itselfmay be provided with a cutting edge against which the weft thread is outunder the action of its own tension. Such a cutting edge should bedisposed substantially on the vertical edge of the shoulder whichseparates'the thickened portion 4b of the horizontal wing 4a of theneedle from the remainder of the said wing, as indicated at D in Figs.2, 3, 5, 6 'and 9.

Fora better understanding of the operation of the above-described loomit will be supposed that at the beginning of an operative cycle theneedle 4 is at its rearniost position, itsfore endbeing whollydisengaged from the warp sheds on the right-hand side of the loom. Thelast pick 29' (Fig. 11) has been beaten up by the slay in theconventional manner. The shed is closed. It will be notedthat the lastpick 29 is situated in front of the tubular thread guide '20 throughwhich is passed the weft thread from the stationary weft supply 3. Thesaid weft thread has not yet been cut and the last pick is therefore inone with a length 30 of thread extending between the lower end of thetubular guide 20 and the inlet end of the said pick 29.

The slay returns backward and the shed re-opens in accordance with thepattern.

Then the needle moves forwardly through the shed from right to left inthe drawings, until its fore end or point protrudes beyond the left-handside of the warp, as-indicated in :Fig. 1. As indicated in this figure,the vertical wing 4; of the needle is in a transverse planesituatedslightly behind the tubular guide 20. The extension or tongue Mis beyond the said guide 20, i.e., on the left of the portion 30 of theweft thread which has been raised during the passage thereof, and thesaid portion 30 now extends on the horizontal wing 4a of the needle.Moreover towards the end of the forward stroke of the needle the radialfinger 11 has met the fixed cam surface 18, whereby the movable jaw hasbeen lowered, i.e., the thread gripper has been positively opened.

The needle 4 then begins its rearward stroke from left to right in Fig.l. The thread portion 30 first slides on the horizontal wing 4a and isthus led under the base of the extension or tongue 4d until it strikesthe transverse shoulder which forms the rear edge of the thickenedportion 4b. Fig. 2 illustrates the position of the weft thread when itis thus pulled by the needle. This thread first runs verticallydownwards from E to F (Fig. 6), then horizontally from F to D. All theedges being appropriately rounded, the thread may slide freely withoutbeing damaged. Of course appropriate thread-tensioning mechanisms (notillustrated) are associated to the weft supply 3 for ensuring thetension required.

But at some point of the beginning of the rearward stroke of the needle(position of Fig. 9), when the weft thread has been engaged under theextension or tongue 4d, two operative steps take place at the same timeor substantially so. In the first place the cutter blade 21 is actuatedby the cam 28 and it cuts the thread portion 3% somewhere between theneedle and the last pick 29 (at any point such as B and C). In thesecond place the radial finger 11 leaves the cam surface 18 andconsequently the thread gripper formed by the grooved end 10a and thebase of the tongue 4d closes under the action of the torsional spring12. The weft thread is thus strongly clamped.

When the weft thread is to be cut at the point D, this is automaticallyobtained after closure of the thread gripper, which closure should occurjust when the thread comes into contact with the rear transverseshoulder of the thickened portion 4b of the needle to prevent the threadfrom slipping against the cutting edge formed at D.

The needle thereafter returns towards the right-hand side of the loomwhile pulling the weft thread from the stationary weft supply 3. Whenthe fore end of the needle is in the vicinity of the right edge of theshed (Fig. 10), the radial finger 11 meets the cam surface 19 and thethread gripper 10a, 41:? is re-opened, whereby the thread is allowed toslide under the tongue 4d until it is wholly disengaged from the needle.The cam surface 19 is of course so adjusted that the end of the weftthread may project beyond the side of the warp shed.

When the needle is wholly disengaged from the .shed, the slay beats upthe weft thread laid by the needle to form a further pick, whereby theoperative cycle is completed.

Owing to the strong clamping action of the thread gripper, the weftthread is positively pulled through the shed without any risk ofslippage even in the case of rough threads, such as jute yarns. Thegripper may be so adjusted that the weft thread is only clamped afterthe needle has moved backwards through a noticeable distance, wherebythe needle is caused to carry a relatively long dead end 32 (Fig. 2) ofthread. By properly adjusting the opening of the gripper this dead endis correctly laid in the shed at the end of the return stroke of theneedle. It is also possible to adjust very exactly the length of theportion of each pick which projects beyond the edge of the fabric.

In the case of light threads the portion 30 of Fig. 9 may break underthe action of its own tension after closure of the gripper, whichdispenses with any kind of cutting device.

It is further to be remarked that the mechanism used for effecting thepositive actuation of the thread gripper is simple in construction andcomprises no sliding sleeve or like gearing.

Owing to the pecular shape of the vertical wing if and to the presenceof the wholly flat portion A (Fig. 4) at the fore end of the needle, theloom shedding means may be so adjusted that the shed closes somewhatbefore the needle has returned beyond the right-hand edge of the warp,the warp threads 1 thus sliding on the said wing 4f and becoming appliedon the said portion A, as indicated in Fig. 2. The weft thread 30 isthus slightly pressed between these warp threads and the needle and whenthe thread gripper opens, the said weft thread is prevented from curlingand from causing defects on the edge of the fabric.

We claim:

1. In a shuttleless weaving loom having a warp, warp shedding means andmeans for beating up the successive picks, a stationary weft supply fromwhich the successive picks are to be drawn; a weft thread pulling needlereciprocatable across the shed to pull the weft thread from saidstationary weft supply, said needle being formed with a thread clampingsurface; a movable jaw adapted to cooperate with said thread clampingsurface to form therewith a thread gripper; an oscillatable rodlongitudinally carried by said needle, with said movable jaw fixed tosaid rod substantially in radial relation therewith; a radial fingercarried by said axis in the vicinity of the rear end of said needle toensure actuation of said movable jaw; fixed cam surfaces disposed on thepath of said radial finger to actuate same during movement of saidneedle to open said thread gripper at the beginning of the return strokeof said needle to receive said weft thread, then to close said threadgripper to retain said weft thread, and thereafter to again open saidthread gripper at the end of said return stroke to release said weftthread; spring means loading said rod angularly against the action ofsaid fixed cam surfaces on said radial finger; means to cause the weftthread from said weft supply to become engaged between said threadclamping surface and said movable jaw at the beginning of the returnstroke of said needle and before closure of said thread gripper; andmeans to cut said weft thread between said needle and the inlet end ofthe preceding pick beaten up into the warp when said thread has beengripped between said thread clamping surface and said movable jaw.

2. In a shuttleless weaving loom having a warp, warp shedding means andmeans for beating up the successive picks, a stationary weft supply fromwhich the successive picks are to be drawn; a weft thread pulling needlereciprocatable across the shed to pull the weft thread from saidstationary weft supply, said needle having a L-shaped cross section withan upwardly directed vertical branch disposed along the side of thehorizontal branch nearer to the warp beam end of the loom; a threadguiding tongue carried by the horizontal branch of said needle, saidtongue rising obliquely and rearwardly of said needle with its upper endbelow the upper shed of the warp; means to guide the weft thread fromsaid weft supply at a point situated below the upper end of said tongueand between said tongue and said vertical branch of said needle to causesaid weft thread to be raised by said tongue and thereafter to fallbehind same during the forward stroke of said needle, but to be caughtduring the return stroke of said needle and to slide on the lower faceof said tongue towards the base thereof, and the underside of the baseof said tongue being formed as a thread clamping surface; a movable jawadapted to cooperate with said thread clamping surface to form therewitha thread gripper, said horizontal branch being recessed to accommodatesaid movable jaw; an oscillatable rod longitudinally carried by saidneedle in the vicinity of the junction of said horizontal branch and ofsaid vertical branch and on the inner side of said branches, saidmovable jaw being fixed to said nod substantially in radial relationtherewith; a radial finger carried by said rod in the vicinity of therear end of said needle to ensure actuation of said movable jaw; fixedcamsurfaces disposed on the path of said radial .finger to actuatesameduring movement of said needle to open said thread gripper at thebeginning of thereturn stroke ofsaid needle before said weft thread isbrought underthe base of said tongue, then to close said thread gripperto retain said weft thread and thereafter to again open said threadgripper at the end of said return stroke to release said weft thread;spring means loading said rod angularly against the action of saidfixed. cam surfaces on said radial finger; and means to out said weftthread between said needle and the inlet of the preceding pick beaten upinto the warp when said thread has been gripped between said threadclamping surface and said movable jaw.

3. In a shuttleless. loom wherein weft yarn is cyclically drawn from astationary "weft yarn supply and inserted into the loom shed,longitudinal weft gripping and inserting means in combination with cammeans mounted on the loom adjacent to said Weft gripping and inserting55 means, said gripping and inserting means comprising, at one endthereof, a stationary weft gripping surface, a movable weft grippingsurface. extending radially from pivotal means mounted upon'andextending longitudinally of said weft gripping and inserting means,spring loaded means at the other end of said weft gripping and insertingmeans adapted to torsionally pivot said pivotal means to thus engagesaid surfaces in a Weft gripping position, said spring loaded meansadapted to be engaged by said cam means to disengage said grippingsurfaces at selected intervals during the weft inserting cycle.

References Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS 669,029Great Britain Mar. 26, 1952 808,755 France Feb. 15, 1937 1,080,877France Dec. 14, 1954 1,107,210 France Aug. 3, 1955

